[Arid_gardener] Question from Home-Hort WWW page

[Dick Gross]

Linda, your neighbor is the offensive party in this instance and she has earned the same kind of respect that she displays toward you. She has no right to be indifferent, neither toward your feelings nor your property rights.  

No self respecting gardener would allow his/her "forest" to infringe upon any one else's property without express consent. 

Is it possible she is blithely ignorant of the stress her reed causes? Could she feel that sharing this giant reed with you is an act of benevolence? Gently setting her straight might be an act of kindness on your part. She will likely be delighted that you are going to solve a problem with which she has struggled without knowledge of how to deal with it. 

If the infringement is root-shoots arising through the soil on your side, mow them to the ground as soon as they appear or use a weed whacker or hoe. This won't kill the plant.

Your neighbor can't reach the offending foliage. Give her free reign into your yard to finish off her own yard work.

If the offending foliage is branches through the fence or over it, lop every leaf and branch off at the fence line and have no qualms about it. If extensive, use a hedge trimmer making a nice flat wall facing you. Use caution if you have to mount a six foot ladder to do the trimming. I am not familiar with a giant reed's structure but assume you can adjust these directions to the circumstances.

Throw all the debris back over the fence to make a hostile statement or add it to your own compost pile for personal gain from the neighbor's gross intransigence. 

A one fourth inch plastic barrier at least two feet deep or a four inch concrete barrier to the same depth would probably work but the obligation to install a barrier is your neighbor's, not yours.

Hand a copy of this to your neighbor and ask her to mark an option. Assume the neighbor is a reasonable person who wants to be neighborly and, odds are, you will find that to be true. Be aware that how you approach it can make the offender an enemy or a friend.

Let us know how this saga plays out that we might all learn from the experience.

Dick Gross, Master Gardener Volunteer
U of A MCCE
Bcc: Arid-Gardener, others unspecified.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: <willys_4bta at msn.com>
To: <arid_gardener at Ag.arizona.edu>
Sent: Friday, May 19, 2006 9:19 AM
Subject: [Arid_gardener] Question from Home-Hort WWW page


> Linda Graham
> 85203
> willys_4bta at msn.com
> 
> My nieghbor has a very well established forest of Arundo donax (giant reed). The forest is well over 25 years old. It has spread to my yard and I would like to get rid of it on my side of the fence. Can I use the same methods for controlling it as you would use for bamboo such as installing a barrier to keep it out of my yard? Additionally, I want to kill the plants on my side of the fence without killing my neighbor's forest or damaging her fence. Digging it out appears to be the preferred method, but I don't want to buy my nieghbor a new fence. I am planning on using black plastic to cook it to death on my side. That seems like the least toxic way to get rid of this plant. I would welcome any other ideas to get rid of it. 
> 
> Thanks!  
> 
> 
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